The Rise of the B2B Brand Refresh – Why it can boost business performance

In that past year, we have received quite a few requests for “brand refreshes” from clients in a wide range of industries. While some were the result of mergers and acquisitions, most came from identifying a need to ensure their brand reflects desired target perceptions and current company objectives – ideally resulting in improved performance.

• Why clients come to Bloom for a brand refresh
• What is a brand refresh, and when is the right time
• How can a brand refresh boost business performance
• Brand refresh examples and inspirational case studies
• Top 3 steps to a successful brand refresh rollout plan

The two biggest reasons clients come to the Bloom team for their brand refresh are because they trust our proven expertise and our ability to deliver a comprehensive toolkit that is activated in weeks instead of months.

How do we do it?

• We rely on discovery data, including internal/ external interviews and competitive analysis, to inform a rebranding strategy
• We develop a unique value proposition and key/foundational messaging to support our brand vision across multiple buyer personas
• We create a refreshed brand identity and flexible design system, ensuring continuity across all internal and external communications
• We provide tactical examples and ongoing activation guidance for all marketing channels and sales enablement functions
• We execute a phased launch campaign to pique interest and build engagement among customers and prospects

What is a brand refresh?

A brand refresh can easily help you maintain audience appeal with an updated look, create a clearer and more focused message, or reflect updates in your products or service.

Generally, a brand refresh will be centered around your existing visual elements and build on a recognizable image but giving it a fresher feel.

When is the right time?

B2B brands typically need to refresh their brand every five years. But you will know when the time is right for your brand if your brand feels outdated or inconsistent, faces increased competition, is underperforming, or just needs to appeal to a new audience.

How can a brand refresh boost business performance?

A branding refresh gives customers something to talk about. It signals to your existing customers that you are evolving alongside their needs and staying one step ahead of the competition. Customers like to feel that the brands they associate themselves with are current and relevant.

And when you include a well-planned marketing campaign, you gain the interest of new potential customers as well, which will help lead to an uptick in sales. The more often your current customers and potential leads are thinking about your brand, the more likely they are to opt to buy from you as opposed to one of your competitors.

Brand refresh examples and inspirational case studies

Crownpeak
Branding and Website Refresh Befitting a Top DXP

Challenge: Crownpeak is trusted by top brands to provide omnichannel experiences with the world’s only cloud-native, enterprise-grade Digital Experience Platform. But alongside industry competitors, Crownpeak was a best-kept secret needing enhanced branding and a value proposition to represent their comprehensive service offering better.

Solution: We worked with the Crownpeak marketing team to develop a strategic messaging platform showcasing CP’s industry-leading capabilities that empower companies to deploy accessible and compliant, optimized digital experiences easily.

Ontic
Launching Extended Life Solutions + Record Sales

Challenge: Brand Ontic’s proprietary process for both licenses and acquisitions of legacy parts while maintaining a relationship with Ontic brand and parent company BBA Aviation.

Solution: Based on the results of the input process, we developed the brand identity, including the name, logo, and messaging platform. We also crafted templates of Ontic’s value proposition for varied communication channels and constructed an account strategy to identify and prioritize targets and develop an ongoing communications cycle.

HCPacific
Building a Profitable Business + an Established Brand

Challenge:
HC Pacific is an aerospace product distributor and innovative provider of supply chain optimization services across a broad array of military and commercial platforms. As an established but under-served brand, HCP needed a unique value proposition and renewed brand identity that would resonate in the marketplace, encompass team initiatives, and support the company’s strategic growth plan.

Solution:
After our discovery and customer journey sessions, we prioritized target audiences. We developed a brand identity and messaging platform, which we applied to enhance sales tools and inform the content strategy for a new website.

Lightpath
The Evolution of a Next-Gen Telecom Brand

Challenge:
Backed by strategic investors and a new leadership team, Lightpath announced a reorganization and aggressive growth plans for expanding their best-in-class enterprise fiber communications business – requiring a comprehensive rebrand.

Solution:
We worked with the Lightpath team to rebrand all sales support tactics, marketing content, and event materials creating a cohesive look and consistent brand message while quickly establishing increased brand awareness, engagement, and recognition.

3 steps to a brand refresh rollout plan

Research
It always helps to understand customers’ current needs better before you attempt to refresh your brand in a uniquely relevant way. With the insights from your customer research, you can then think through how your brand positioning and messaging need to be adjusted.

Redesign
Typically, the most central work to any brand refresh is an update of visual identity. This includes your logo, color scheme, typography, photographic style, etc.

Because your visual identity is the most immediate and visceral representation of your brand, refreshing that identity has the most immediate impact on customers. A crisp, clean new logo is one of the best signals that a brand has its gaze set firmly on the future.

Reintroduce
Updating your website and social media channels is one of the first and most immediate steps. Still, a refresh is only truly successful if your target audience is aware of it. So, including a proactive marketing campaign is critical to get your rejuvenated brand seen.

Talk to us if you think it may be time for a brand refresh but are unsure where to start. We are ready to help you plan and execute a smooth brand evolution for your business and support your continued success.